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Thursday, December 11, 2014

This is my first professionally made PCB. I designed it using EasyEDA.com in my spare time. OSH Park is producing the board and I will perform the assembly.

The board connects 1-wire temperature sensors to a Raspberry Pi for logging and display. There are also connections for an I2C/TWI display and an SPI RF24 wireless module. My plans is to release the source on github and sell kits. Please leave me a comment if you are interested in either one.

GHPi is what I am calling the project, which is currently in the prototype phase with my friends at c-jgreenhouse.com. Go buy some flowers from them.

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

On 12/2/2014, I was finally able to fly my maiden fpv circuit through my backyard. This wasn't my first flight with the quadcopter or first time seeing the FPV video but it was the first time I flew the vehicle directly from the video feedback. The feeling is awesome and I can't wait to try this out on my airplane when conditions are right.

The quadcopter is a HobbyKing fpv250 and isn't strong enough to fly with a gopro. I haven't received my C-DVR yet, so I wasn't able to record the slightly frightening flights.

"The AMA FPV spotter must communicate with the FPV pilot to ensure the FPV aircraft remains within VLOS, warning the FPV pilot of approaching aircraft, and when avoidance techniques are necessary."

I need a spotter.

In total I lost three propellers. One was damaged due to a sudden and unexpected hard landing. The next was lost due to over tightening the new propeller onto the motor. I have seen these GemFan 5x3x3 propellers explode when spinning up so I don't risk running cracked or stressed GemFans. The last prop was lost due to a collision with a tree, which also pulled off a landing gear and the mounting hardware for the propeller. I could have also lost a landing leg but was able to find it.

I need to collect spare parts like propeller nuts and washers, landing gear and more propellers. This stuff should go in a case with the quadcopter.

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

We are dry fitting the engine, tanks and pump. The plates have been drilled and fitted.

Grant is tack welding on the pump mounting plate.

The engine and pump mount plates are tacked together. Now they're ready for finish welding which will solidify the four pieces of metal.

Here you can also see the tanks sort of fitting into the frame. We still need to re-check them for leaks and attach them to the frame.

These tanks are really hard to move on their own due to their weight. When combined with the frame it is no longer feasible to lift by hand. I think we're going to have to build a hoist, which we'll need later anyway to attach the Powercube to the Artcar.